New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-02-06
CRUISE or THE ESSEX.
soUNDINGs IN THE INDIAN OCEAN.


FATAL RESULTS OF A PREMATURE EXPLOSION OF A
TORPEDO
FRoM An OCCASIONAL CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRiBUNR.l
fSINGApoRE, Dec. 2O.-The United States steam
war Essex arrived here two DAYS ago. twelve
days from Colombo. From Colombo to Acheen Head,
the northern end of Sumatra deep sea solndlngs
made showing the depth of water to be nom
], 400 to 2,3OO fathoms decreasing to 975 fathoms
as Acneen was fovd nv otter vessels
and ked the latest charts of the Indian Ocean,
aud the specimens of the bottom obtained were essen
TALLY of the same character as those from other
sources. Many of the sounding cups with which
the vessel supplied having been lost during the
cruise, by breaking of the sounding wire was neces
say to extempOrZe for III case OF he loss Oh
the original stock. Sigsbee cup was copied as near
might be, but with so much la6or that a more
Engineer George w. Stiyers; cup that could
be easily and quickly made with the materials usually
on board steamers, without the aid OF iathes or
cutters 1t simply piece of boiler tune
with removable valve grating made from a scrap OF
sheet brass at the bottom, the valve being piece OF
thin sheet rubber IL worked remarkably well IN
fact bros ght mp much of the bottom any OF the
elaborate and expensive cups now in use ana
was employed in all the soundmgs from Colombo to
this port
Four days before reaching here terrible accident
occurred on the Essex. On December 13 there had
been target practice with the great guns, and the
next dav advantage was taken of the smooth sea to
exercise with the spar torpedoes TSo were rugged
the starboard and on the port side, the star
board one containing an experimental charge of five
pounds of gun cotton and the port full service
charge of twenty-five pounds of the same explosive
The tOrpedoes had not been lowered into the water
when the starbOGrd one exploded. the fragments o.
the flying every direction and with fatal results
among the crew collected the tOpgaant fOrecastle,
and killing or in uring the following: Peter Ilagele
William {. Hammond. and A. Rettig, frst-class APP
prcntices Il. +. (;erhracht. and W. j. McFadden
seamen apprentices. and W. f. Morgan. chief boat
swan's mate Hagec received flying fragment in
his brain and died i'm about half hour. He was
buried sea the afternoon of the same day. He
born at Railway, " j.. in 1867, and enlisted on
the Minnesota, at Ncw-York. in March. $50. Ham
monl was also wounded in the brain and although
still living. is not likely to recover. He was born at
Washington. ID. C., in 1867. and enlisted on the
Minnesota in 1891. Rettig and Gerbracht received
pieces of metal in their legs. but their ures are not
thought TO be necessarily fatal although the missiles
that wounded them have not yet been extracted nor
located. They, together with Hammond. have been
sent a no .ptal shore where there better ac
commolation, than can be provided on shipboard.
McFaddcn and Morgan were bat slightly injured.
If there can be such thing as good fortune in
such unfortunate affair. It is that the starbdard
TORPEDO exploded instead of the port one, for the
twenty five pounds of gun cotton of the latter would
most certainly have CLAIMED great number Of VIC
Tins if not the destruction Of the vessel itself.
court of inquiry composed Of Lieu'enants Wadh1ms,
Galloway and Gearing investigated the matter but.
until the findings of the court made public by the
Secretary of the Navy 1t world evidently he IMPROPER
TO express an opinion to who. If anybody has Teen
adud ged responsible for this sad occurrence.
Tie Essex will remain here only long enough to
make some needed adjustment to her machinery and
will then proceed n rapidly rs may be against me
northeast monsoon to Hong Kong. 1t Is probable
however that size viii be- compelled to put into Manila
Tor coal between here and Hong Kong